This weekend I am taking the company skid-steer to a friend of mine's place in Monaville.

My mission (as directed by his now gun-toting mom): build a shooting range.

Seems easy enough, but I am in the construction industry, I have many years of experience at my disposal, this has to be good (plus I get to use it for free)

Basic idea: 50' berm with 15' side berms and a shooting "shed"




Now, a few requests for suggestions.

What type of rig should we use for posting targets?
I was going to use a small fence with three or four wood posts and a top and bottom rail. But, that only gives one distance.

Should I grade down into the range (worried about drainage/mud) or grade from behind the berm? (wanted to be shooting slightly downhill.)

There will be lights, good or bad idea?



Cody
Fightin' Texas Aggie c/o '04

Bring a BUNCH of ryegrass seed, or it'll erode badly on you when it rains.

Both for the berm and the interior, correct?

It is a little late for this weekend, but there is a NRA Range Source book that covers all details of designing and constructing shooting ranges.

If you didn't have any spoils readily available on the property, I'd push the dirt up from the back and sides. If you push it up from the front, you're going to create a low area that may render the range useless for several days after a good rain.

Look for a high spot maybe that you can cut down without cutting it below the surrounding ground.

Grade the range so water drains out away from the berm and doesn't collect in the range. Have a friend that has a private range also in Monaville that has had lots of problems with drainage.

Face the range to the North preferably. Definitely don't face it West. Dimensions look good for most target shooting. Side berms aren't necessary for straight on target shooting unless you want to set up some type of practical/action shooting course.

For target stands you can buy or make something movable like these.



Use 1"x2" box steel for the vertical holders and just angle iron for the H shaped base. You get 1"x2"x4' wood to stick in the box steel then staple your targets to it. The metal is heavy enough keep the target from blowing over, the wood is cheap and easily replaceable if shot.

[This message has been edited by lexofer (edited 1/28/2009 2:37p).]

I'd lose both side berms, but that's me.

build a leachate system that exits out the back to reduce lead contamination from reaching ground and surface water.

Grade away from your berms, as has been stated.

If you want to ensure that you are shooting downhill, raise the area that you will be shooting from a few feet, kind of like what you generally see at a driving range.

Your degree of slope does not need to be much - just enough to allow water to go from high spots to low spots.

Regarding the slope of the berm, the NRA Range Source Book recommends "The range side (side facing the shooter) slope must be as steep as possible but not less than 45 degrees or a ratio of 1-to-1. However, depending on soil conditions a 1.5 to 1 slope may be all that is obtainable. Under these circumstances depending on what is located in the downrange area, additional range features such as bullet catchers may need to be installed."

Regarding the height of the berms, the range book is somewhat cloudy on that issue... "Backstop height can vary according to a particular site or use."

Regarding the width of the berm, "General dimensions specify the overall width of the backstop to have a minimum extension of 5 feet beyond the end target as measured from the top of the berm."

Extending this guideline to the height of the berm, one might suggest that the height of the berm should be a minimum of 5 feet taller than the top of the target. This would probably work for a 50 or 100 yard berm and a 5 foot tall target (10 to 12 foot tall berm), but at the range that I helped build about 8 years ago we built a 20 foot tall berm for our 600 yard targets.

Keep in mind that unless you do some pretty serious compacting of the dirt, it is likely to settle significantly in the first 6 months or year. Your 15 foot berm may only be 12 feet tall next year.

Per the Range Source Book, side berms seem to be important only if there will be shooting at angles other than straight on, or if there will be shooters at different ranges shooting in the same direction as you are. I don't get the impression that this is what you had in mind.

Keep in mind that if there is a lot of rock, concrete, or other construction debris to be buried under the berm, that 18 to 24 inches of compacted soil should cover that debris to reduce the possibility of unwanted ricochets.

Hope this helps you build a safer range.

So your building a range in Monaville. Well, you have a damn good range right down the road to model after. The Impact Zone is located in that hole in the ground as well...

not to get too nerdy on you but there is a guidance that the EPA put out called "best management practices for Lead at Outdoor Shooting Ranges" that gives some good information. It talkes about rotating the fronts, how deep to expect bullets to go, etc.

you may also want to make sure you are using an alkiline soil (basic). Lead adheres to basic soils and does not travel as far as it might in an acidic soil.

the BMP guidance can be found at:
http://www.epa.gov/Region2/waste/leadshot/download.htm

i dont know... thats pretty nerdy...

oh because putting in a leachate recovery system isnt nerdy. good call!